Gullible
by BubblyShell22
Summary: Feeling guilty over his mistake regarding Chris Bradford, Michelangelo seeks solace from Splinter, who teaches him a valuable lesson about trust. Based on the Nick TV series.


Gullible

A/N: This was a little bunny I picked up while watching "New Friend, Old Enemy" last week. Splinter never talked to Mikey, so I thought it would be cool if I did a little story where Splinter did talk to his son about what has happened. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. The new show is awesome. That is all.

Summary: Feeling guilty over his mistake regarding Chris Bradford, Michelangelo seeks comfort and solace from his father, who teaches him a valuable lesson about trust.

"You actually thought I'd be friends with a freak like you? Pathetic."

The words resounded in Michelangelo's head and made him feel worse than he had before. He'd been stupid to trust someone like Chris Bradford to be his friend. The man had been using him and hadn't liked him at all. Although his brothers hadn't said much about it, he knew they were thinking the same thing that he was. He was just a dumb idiot.

"Maybe I should just give up," he mused to himself. "All humans suck."

"Is something troubling you, Michelangelo?" Splinter asked his son.

Mikey jumped. He hadn't heard his father come into the room. "Geez, Sensei, you scared me!" he gasped. "Can't you warn a Turtle next time?"

Splinter smiled at his son. "I am sorry," he said. "But I could not help but notice that you seem sad. You have not played a prank for a few days. What is troubling you so much?"

Mikey sighed. He knew he couldn't hid things from his father, so he told him all about Chris Bradford and what had happened. He waited for his father to yell at him about being naïve and stupid enough to trust a human, but Splinter didn't do that. Instead, he sighed and patted his son on the head.

"I knew something like this would happen," he said. "I suppose that is why I tried to protect you from the human world and forbade you from going up to the surface. I did not prepare you for what could happen. That is my fault and my fault alone."

"You were right, Sensei," Mikey told him. "Humans can't be trusted. I'm never going to befriend one again."

"Not all humans are bad, Michelangelo," Splinter reminded him. "Remember that I was once human myself. Does that make me bad?"

"No, but you're different," Mikey replied. "You're our dad. You raised us and stuff."

"What about April? Has she turned out to be bad?"

"Well, sort of. She's the one who told me to use the Internet to connect with Chris Bradford."

"But she did not mean any harm," Splinter told him. "Her intentions were to give you a chance to make a friend. I see no reason to be angry at her for that. She had no idea of what you would face."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mikey said. "And I guess I was kind of mean to her by saying she didn't count as a friend. She really has been pretty cool."

Splinter chuckled at his son's remark. "Yes, she has proven to be a good friend to you, and I think you need to use that to your advantage. Not all humans are bad, my son. You just have to be more careful about who you consort with. Perhaps next time you should have Donatello look more thoroughly into files when searching for friends."

"Yeah, I bet Don could do that," Mikey said. "Thanks, Sensei. So, you don't think I was stupid?"

"No, not at all," Splinter told him. "I can see where you would want to make a friend. But just remember that no matter how many friends you may make, there is one relationship you can never let go of."

Mikey looked at his father curiously. "And what's that, Sensei?"

"Your family," his father replied. Then he patted his son on the head and went on his way.

Mikey smiled as he thought about what his father had said. It was true that he had his family to guide him, and maybe he'd make another friend besides April. For now, he'd just cherish what he had and remember not to be too hasty when trying to find that special friend. With that thought in his head, he went to go devise another prank to annoy Raph with.

The End

A/N: A little short but sweet. I really hope you guys liked it. Please feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.


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